1. 2015 Robertson County Schools Parent Survey Results (pre-K -5 th grade) Facilitated by a cooperative effort of the Robertson County Schools and Robertson Education Initiative (REdI) of the Chamber of Commerce

2. 2014 Parent Action Plan 1.Bus Stress 2.Websites 3.Communication

3. 2014 Parent Action Plan 1. BUS STRESS Students were staying at school 1 ½ hours after dismissal waiting on buses Parents had significant concerns about how often buses were late or cancelled IMPROVEMENT The system requested 5 more buses to help alleviate the transportation backup and received 2 Students are still waiting up to an hour after school for a bus to pick them up to take them home Need to identify which schools and how many students? The system hired extra drivers for each cluster so when a driver called in sick, they have a backup driver available This year’s survey had very few comments about the buses

4. 2014 Parent Action Plan 2. WEBSITE 73% of parents rarely access the school websites, did not know they existed or would use them if they were updated 49% said they did not b/c the information is not updated IMPROVEMENT A project team was put in place to determine the website needs for the school system The team determined that an up to date web presence would not only be a resource to our current parents/students/teachers but could also be a strong marketing tool for our communities and schools Negotiations are being finalized now with hopes to open the sites at the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year

5. 2014 Parent Action Plan 3. COMMUNICATION Communication methods preferred by parents were mainly electronic unless there was a behavior issue which a phone call was preferred More communications and information from the schools was requested IMPROVEMENT Our schools already have a policy in place regarding calling parents in necessary situations; response from teachers parents is rated high. The Website Project in the action plan will assist with the other requests: Has teacher web pages where they can post their plans, homework and any help Has a school newsletter feature allowing the school to send out regular correspondence Is very easy to manage so anyone at the school can keep it updated, not just one “webmaster”

6. Survey Process Open for 5 weeks Method of Marketing/PR School calls Announced at Principals meeting prior to start Letter out to all principals prior to survey start Email blast out to Chamber Members Link to survey on School and Chamber website Posted on REdI Facebook Page Emailed out to 2000+ on REdI Newsletter

7. Participation 2015:1,995 or 36% (addition of incentive) 2013:1,567 or 28% 2011:1,459 or 26%

8. The Great Stuff 88% of all English speaking parents rated their overall satisfaction with their child’s educational experience as MOSTLY or VERY Satisfied; 94% from Hispanic families 89% are mostly or very satisfied with safety of their children up from 84% two years ago 90% believe there are no serious student behavior/discipline problems at the schools [90% 2013; 89% 2011] Teacher Communication: 83% are mostly or very satisfied with communication with teachers and teachers rated 92% on their responsiveness to parental concerns Principals rated 83% good or excellent on responsiveness to parent concerns and School Office Staff was rated 89% for the same. 80% of the parents rated the School Board’s responsiveness to their concerns as Good or Excellent up from 72% last year.

9. The Great Stuff 95% feel that their school is neat, clean and in good repair 12% do not have internet access down from 16% in 2013 and 18% in 2011 28% who replied to the Hispanic version did not have access to the internet down from 37% in 2013 84% of parents feel their students need at least weekly access to computers 94% of Hispanic families participated in Parent/Teacher Conferences [72% English speaking] 20% are not satisfied with the school nutrition program down from 45% in 2013

10. Internet Access We need to change the options next year because many parents (especially the Hispanic community) wrote in that they have internet access only via their cell phones.

11. Technology

12. Needs Improvement Only 65% of parents think the special needs of their children are being met. i.e. accelerated course work, remedial classes, tutoring. 44% of all parents rate Advanced Academic programs at their school as fair or poor 61% of parents rarely access the school websites, did not know they existed or would use them if they were updated 39% of Hispanic parents were not aware we had websites 35% of the parents with special needs children say their needs are not being met up from 27% in 2013 Biggest issue mentioned regarding behavior is bullying 35% feel our school system is Fair to Poor compared to private schools

13. 2015 Parent Action Plan ADVANCED OPTIONS: 44% of all parents rate Advanced Academic programs as fair to poor SPECIAL NEEDS: 35% of parents with special needs children say their needs are not being met (this is up from 27% in 2013) PRIVATE SCHOOLS: 35% of parents feel our school system is fair to poor compared to private schools

14. Special Thanks Kelly Miller at Highland Crest volunteered her team and 5 weeks of time to input these surveys for free! The time from the administration and principals to promote the involvement in the survey to the parents Congratulations to White House Heritage Elementary School for having the highest parent participation and winning $1000 for their school!